Rooney Mara ("A Nightmare on Elm Street") has been cast as the motorcycle-driving computer hacker in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," David Fincher's upcoming adaptation of the best-selling Swedish crime thriller, according to a Sony press release.

Mara nabbed the highly sought-after role following an exhaustive search said to include names like Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Ellen Page and Mia Wasikowska. Late last month, Mara, who stars in Fincher's "Social Network," was reportedly contending with four other actresses for the part. Now, Salander officially belongs to Mara.

She'll be joined by Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, the disgraced journalist who is hired to investigate a decades-old missing-persons case and convinces Salander to assist the search. Based on the first of Stieg Larsson's three "Millennium" novels, the film will reportedly co-star Robin Wright as Erika Berger (Blomkvist's business partner and occasional lover) and Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger (the brother of the missing woman), though the Sony press release did not mention either of these names.

The film is set to begin shooting in September in Sweden, with an eye on a December 21, 2011, release date. Fincher told MTV News last month that he planned to set the film in Sweden, rather than Americanize the story line. "What, are you going to put it in Seattle?" he laughed.

According to Deadline New York, Mara's deal includes an option for Larsson's two sequels, "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." Contrary to earlier rumors, Fincher told us he will not film either of the sequels in conjunction with the first film.

"No, there's no plans for that right now," he said. "You got to make one that people want to see a sequel to before you can make a sequel."